Soldier injured in landmine blast near LoC in Poonch; rusted shell defused

Mendhar, Apr 18: An army soldier was injured in a landmine explosion, while a rusted shell was safely defused in a forward village near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, officials said.

The explosion occurred during an area domination patrol by an army column in the Balakot area, leaving an Agniveer injured, they said.

The soldier was shifted to a hospital and his condition is stated to be “stable”, officials said.

As part of an anti-infiltration obstacle system, the forward areas are dotted with landmines, which sometimes get washed away by rain, resulting in such types of accidents.

In a separate operation, a rusted mortar shell was noticed at the Sagra border village in the Balnoi area and was subsequently destroyed in a controlled explosion by army experts without causing any damage.